Hi Ritu,\nI am HR working in a company for last 4.8 years.I joined on 3rd July 2012.It was all okey till Feb 2017 when i got to know i am pregnant and doctor suggested me bed rest for 2 months ( Feb 17 and March 17).I had a miscarriage in first week of March 17.I had got my salary for feb as i was having my LOP's and no salary for the month of March 17 as i was not having any leave balance.on 2nd feb i had a performance meeting with my manager and he said he is not happy with my performance and as company is growing according to him i would not be able to handle the pressure.I have all the appreciation mails from my Product owners and even from him on time to time basis.\nToday ( April 3rd) when i went to office he asked me to put down the papers and he will pay me 2 months notice salary.( in appointment letter its been written that both parties the would need to give 3 months salary or 3 months notice period).\nNow After convincing him, he agreed to pay 3 months salary but now he is saying they cant pay gratuity as every company has different rules and i will be eligible for gratuity if i will complete exact 5 years not even a single day less.\nSorry to write a long story.Please help.\nThanks 03 Apr 2017, 08:08pm

Hi Rupali,\n\nThanks for reaching out. I can understand your situation right now. \n\nHowever it is correct that the Gratuity is payable upon completion of 5 years of service.\n\nBelow is a gist of the proposed amendment to the Gratuity Act, for your reference.\n\n\nHIGHLIGHTS\nGovernment likely to soon amend Gratuity Act to double gratuity ceiling;\n\nProposal to raise gratuity from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh;\n\nGratuity is paid to employees after completion five years of service;\n***************************************************\nLabour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has said that the government is likely to soon amend the Gratuity Act to enhance the ceiling of gratuity to Rs. 20 lakh from Rs. 10 lakh. "After clearance from the Cabinet, it will come to Parliament. This time, we have proposed to increase the gratuity from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh," the minister said. Last month, the central trade unions had agreed on the proposal in a tripartite consultation with the Labour Ministry. The employers as well as state representatives had also agreed to the proposal of raising the amount of gratuity to Rs. 20 lakh in the tripartite meeting held last month.\n\nHere are 10 things to know:\n\n1) Gratuity is a benefit received by an employee for services rendered to an organisation. For companies covered under the Gratuity Act, this benefit is paid when an employee completes five or more years of service with the employer.\n\n\n2) An employee gets gratuity when he/she resigns, retires or is laid off. In case of death or disablement there is no minimum eligibility period.\n\n3) After the amendment in the Act, formal sector workers would be eligible for up to Rs. 20 lakh tax-free gratuity.\n\n4) The unions had demanded the removal of conditions asking to have at least 10 employees in an establishment and minimum five years of service for payment of gratuity.\n\n5) The proposed amendment is being brought to bring the maximum ceiling amount to Rs. 20 lakh in line with the 7th Central Pay Commission's recommendations as accepted by the government. The relevant amendment for central government employees was notified on July 25, 2016 and the enhanced ceiling amount was made effective from January 1, 2016. \n\n6) The gratuity amount depends upon the tenure of service and last drawn salary. It is calculated according to this formula: Last drawn salary (basic salary plus dearness allowance) X number of completed years of service X 15/26. According to this formula, the time period of over six months or more is considered as one year. This means if you have completed five years and seven months of service, the number of years would be considered as six years for calculation of gratuity benefit. On the other hand, if the service period is five years and five months, for gratuity calculation it will be considered five years.\n\n7) An employer can however give higher gratuity than the amount under the prescribed formula.\n\n8) Trade unions had demanded that the amended provision regarding maximum amount should be made effective from January 1, 2016, as done in the case of central government employees. Besides that, the rate of 15 days wages for each completed year of service be raised to 30 days wages, the unions had said during the tripartite meeting.\n\n9) For government employees, entire amount of gratuity received on retirement or death is currently exempted from income tax.\n\n10) In case of others, current income tax rules on gratuity depend on whether employees are covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 or not. For non-government employees covered under the Gratuity Act, the income tax exemption on any gratuity received is least of the following:\n\n- Maximum amount specified by the government which is currently Rs. 10 lakh\n- Last drawn salary X 15/26 X years of service\n- Actual gratuity received\n\nFor non-government employees not covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act, the income tax exemption on any gratuity

Hello Maam,\nI Am Swapnil Mishra Because of my son I want to do work from home, I want to prove myself\nwhich type of job I can do I have few years experience as teacher, instructor an office manager please help me to search out suitable job as eary as possible. Thank You\nSwapnil Mishra 03 Apr 2017, 10:33am

Hello Swapnil,\n\nThanks for reaching out. Would, however, request you to provide more details about your qualification, previous experience etc, to assist you better.\n\n\nThanks.

Hi, I am a Company Secretary by profession. I have started my own practice in the field of corporate laws and other legal compliance. Since it is a start up, I am looking forward to meet new people and connect with them to expand. I want to offer services for all legal matters. further, I want to know how to connect more with people to expand my practice. Thanks in advance :) 30 Mar 2017, 01:34pm

Hi Nishtha,\n\nGlad to assist you. I would recommend be on the look out for professional groups and joining chapters of MCCIA etc for networking and reaching out to the Professionals . One to one communications help building up trust which is the outcome of a personal bond.\n\nYou can find many such professional groups and platforms which conduct activities which offer strong networking platforms , as well.\n\n\nHope this helps :-). All the best and Tc.\n\n

Hi, I am a Company Secretary by profession. I have started my own practice in the field of corporate laws and other legal compliance. Since it is a start up, I am looking forward to meet new people and connect with them to expand. I want to offer services for all legal matters. further, I want to know how to connect more with people to expand my practice. Thanks in advance :) 30 Mar 2017, 01:33pm

Hello ma'am I am a biotechnology graduate, currently pursuing my masters in the same field, I would like to know the prospects of biotechnology freshers in the field of intellectual property rights. 12 Mar 2017, 05:15pm

Hi Simran,
Thanks for reaching out. Though this isn't my area of expertise ,with the best information available with me, this field currently is flooded, but surely you can try options as in-house with some good law firms( having Intellectual Property Practice) or Unit for Research and Development of Information of Products( URDIP).
Hope this helps.
Thanks :-)

Hi Ritu, Im a law post graduate with net qualified. Since last3 years im on a break. My daughter is 3 yrs n 6 month old, will be going to pre school. Her timing would be 9-12. Could you please advice me how to shape up my career. Regards Aradhana 07 Mar 2017, 05:36pm

Hi Aradhana,
Lovely to be able to assist you :-). Would request you to share your interest area in Law and if you have any previous experience in Practicing or Teaching , would help guide you better.
Till then Tc :-)